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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/25489621">Baking Club</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/YAOIHOE95/pseuds/YAOIHOE95'>YAOIHOE95</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>EXO (Band)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Fluff, High School AU, M/M, Romance, baking au, coming of age au</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-07-24</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-07-24</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-05 03:00:36</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>4</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>16,790</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/25489621</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/YAOIHOE95/pseuds/YAOIHOE95</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Kim Jongin is not gay, or so he claims.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Kim Jongin | Kai/Zhang Yi Xing | Lay</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>29</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. 1/4</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Jongin woke up with a pounding headache, sore throat and eyes burning. He was hangover, and it was all his friends’ fault. The drowsy teen groaned as he barely managed to push himself up from his comfortable bed, his hair—greasy and smelling of weed—sticking out in every direction. He already missed the soft sheets and fluffy pillows, but he had a class to attend to and his attendance score was already bad enough to last him a life time.</p><p>He slid his body down from the bed and let his feet find the floor. Almond shaped eyes half-closed and face puffed up. He looked like shit, he was well aware of that, but that was the least of his worries. His mother wasn’t home anyways. He could skip school and nobody would scold him, because his father was away in a business trip as well which meant he had the whole house to himself, he could even throw a party or something, but as he dragged himself to the bathroom he decided he’ll just give school a chance. Maybe he’ll get to talk to his kinda-crush today—Sehun did promise he was going to properly introduce them. He took a half-empty toothpaste and an overused toothbrush from the cabinet behind the mirror, then squeezed a generous amount that ended up straight in the sink. Jongin groaned, his shoulders slumping in defeat. This day definitely didn’t seem promising.</p><p> </p><p>♡</p><p> </p><p>“Good morning, sunshine! You look like shit.” The ever so honest Byun Baekhyun shared as he joined Jongin on the bleachers. Jongin didn’t bother to answer him or even glance at him, it was too early for him to engage the obnoxious brown haired dude into a meaningless conversation. He didn’t even want to be there let alone talk to someone as annoying and insignificant as Byun Baekhyun. They weren’t even that close, they were merely acquaintances and Baekhyun seemed to overlook that fact at times. He knew him through his best friend Oh Sehun who was on good terms with Park Chanyeol who apparently was Baekhyun’s bestie and couldn’t go anywhere without dragging him along. Just a few feet in front of them, Sehun and Chanyeol were savagely fighting over a ball. Jongin noted with an unimpressed frown that both of them sucked at the game.</p><p> </p><p>“Chanyeol looks like an absolute idiot playing football. Man, I can’t believe I’m best friends with that thing! Okay, let’s face it they both suck at football, but at least their butts look nice in those tiny shorts.” Baekhyun said with a bubbly chuckle while snapping a few pictures with his phone, and although Jongin pretended he didn’t hear him so he wouldn’t have to talk to him, he was observant enough to note the fondness in his tone. He was totally into Chanyeol. Jongin rolled his eyes, Baekhyun was too gay for their squad and he made him hella uncomfortable. He was going to have to confront Sehun about this as soon as possible. He tore his gaze from his phone towards his two friends, Chanyeol was dribbling the ball seemingly like a pro or so he thought while Sehun just stood there and laughed his heart out at how awkward the taller between the two looked. His eyes however drifted from Sehun’s—rare—wide grin to his short clad butt, he couldn’t help but stare now that Baekhyun has mentioned it, Sehun did have a nice bum.  </p><p> </p><p>“Hi!” Jongin was startled from his daze, cheeks heating up as it finally sunk in that he was staring at his best friend’s bum, it was all Baekhyun’s fault god damn it. The tan skinned teen glanced up at the sound only to come face to face with none other than his cousin, Kim Junmyeon.</p><p>“Hey!” Baekhyun was the one who greeted back, eyelashes fluttering and canines showing. Junmyeon grinned back. The handsome senior was wearing a large grey wool sweater with a white dress shirt tucked underneath it, round glasses fitting perfectly with his smart look. He even went the extra mile by wearing a black necktie. Jongin couldn’t help but wonder if they were actual relatives or not—or maybe Junmyeon just had an identity crisis, maybe he thought he was the modern day Harry Potter or something, the theory wasn’t farfetched at all, Junmyeon was a Harry Potter nerd after all. Unlike neat Junmyeon over there, Jongin barely put an effort in styling his hair, black thin sweater, black jeans and a black beanie with a nice pair of Nikes, that was all it took to have the ‘Kim Jongin look’—it was even statistically proven that Kim Jongin looked gorgeous whatever he wore.</p><p>“So the guys and I were wondering if you’d like to join us in our baking club, The Delightful Delicacies!” Baekhyun snorted openly at the club name while Jongin opted to just blink in silence at his cousin until he disappears. “We bake goodies and throw awesome pre-drinks, I promise you it’s not as lame as it sounds. As juniors, I think it’ll be great for you guys to get to know some seniors and get yourselves out there, if you’re into popularity and stuff, I mean I’m sure you guys are already popular with kids your age and—“ Junmyeon’s blabber was stopped with one of his friends putting a hand on his shoulder, Jongin recognized him as Do Kyungsoo. “We’re short on members, and if you guys are kind enough to join us I’m sure plenty of girls would want to join as well.”</p><p>“So what you’re trying to tell us is that you want us in even though there are no hot chicks in this baking club of yours?” Chanyeol made his presence known with an obnoxious playful smirk on display; Sehun joining him soon after with a lifted brow and lips slowly curving up into a crooked smile. Jongin rolled his eyes, his cousin was making a fool of himself. If there were no girls in this stupid club of his why was he even bothering?</p><p>“Yeah, I mean there were a couple of girls but...they found a better club to join.” The last sentence was said barely above a whisper, Junmyeon cleared his throat, cheeks burning in embarrassment. “But worry not! If you guys join us I can guarantee to you that—“</p><p>“Look, you either join or not! We’re not gonna beg you to!” Typical Do Kyungsoo. Junmyeon’s eyes widened at the sudden burst out, he was clearly desperate on getting new members for his club and Kyungsoo’s sour mood was only making things worse for him. Chanyeol winked at the fuming doe eyed senior, clearly enjoying pushing his buttons. Sometimes Jongin wondered if all his friends were gay.</p><p>“There’s free alcohol if you guys are interested.” A third voice uttered, and Jongin finally noticed that there was someone else standing there with his cousin and Kyungsoo. Someone he’s never seen before. Jongin raised a brow at the boy’s appearance; he didn’t really fit in with Junmyeon’s friends criteria. No Harry Potter vibes. He was lean and a bit taller than the other two, pale skin and dark hair pushed back. The boy was wearing a white dress shirt with sleeves rolled up to his elbows tucked into fit ripped black jeans. Jongin had to admit, the boy was kinda good looking.</p><p>“Free alcohol you say?” Baekhyun asked, his eyes glimmering for some reason as he eyed the dark haired stranger.</p><p>“Yep! Free alcohol, free cake, and most importantly you’ll be part of the coolest club in the school!” The boy winked with a dimpled grin and Jongin gulped. Okay, he wasn’t kinda good looking, he was gorgeous and Jongin was mature enough to admit it without having to be into guys.</p><p>“We’ll think about it and let you know.” Baekhyun has apparently proclaimed himself their squad’s representative. Jongin frowned as Baekhyun stood up offering the boy his number and asking for his in return. ‘So I can let him know if we ever feel like going’ Baekhyun lied through his teeth with a straight face. Okay, so maybe Baekhyun wasn’t that into Park Chanyeol as Jongin has once thought.</p><p> </p><p>♡</p><p> </p><p>After those three excused themselves and left, Baekhyun announced for the whole school to hear that he has finally found his knight in shining armour, Chanyeol gave him a funny look while Jongin and Sehun simply brushed him off. They talked about football, girls and which party they were going to this upcoming weekend. Sehun proudly shared that the girl he’s been trying to woo since forever has finally accepted her fate and agreed on going out with him. Jongin high-fived him with a wide smug grin, and Sehun promised he’ll fix him up with his crush soon enough. ‘It’s much more fun if we both have girlfriends’ The pale faced teen has said with a firm nod, and Jongin appreciated that his best friend didn’t want him to feel like a third-wheel once he starts dating this girl.</p><p> </p><p>Chanyeol broke their bro-talk with a loud groan, whining about how hungry he was and so they agreed on taking their ‘mushy heart-to-heart discussion’—as Baekhyun liked to call it—to the school’s cafeteria.   </p><p> </p><p>“Hey guys!” Jongdae greeted as he made himself comfortable next to Chanyeol. Kim Jongdae was a close friend of Baekhyun’s, who has easily made a place for himself in their squad—that used to only consist of Kim Jongin and Oh Sehun but oh well—Jongin however kinda liked him, he wasn’t as obnoxious as Park Chanyeol and not nearly as annoying as Byun Baekhyun. Kim Jongdae was cool and Jongin didn’t mind having him around. “Guess what?”</p><p>“You’re finally growing your hair back?” Baekhyun teased, giving Jongdae’s strange short hair cut a nasty look. Chanyeol burst out laughing at that while Jongin and Sehun simply snorted in amusement.</p><p>“Not until you grow some balls and go confess to—“</p><p>“Okay, okay I take it back, you look gorgeous!” An unusually flustered Baekhyun cut him off with hands thrown up in the air in a show of complete submission. </p><p>“So I thought.” Jongdae made a show of pushing his hair back with a roll of eye before bringing his focus back on the remaining three. “I’m joining a baking club.”</p><p>They eyed Jongdae as if they were expecting him to burst out into a laugh and tell them he was simply messing with them, it was his nature after all, though that never happened as Jongdae kept staring right back at them patiently waiting for what they had to say.</p><p>“What? You’re for real?” It was Sehun who broke the awkward silence, god bless him. “Why?”</p><p>“Why not?”</p><p>“There must be a catch? Is it the free alcohol?” Chanyeol stuffed a few fries into his mouth, brows furrowed in confusion.</p><p>“Who the fuck joins a club called ‘The Delightful Delicacies’ like what the fuck man?” Jongin put his hands behind his head and leaned back as he lazily watched them bicker in amusement, not forgetting to give Baekhyun a pointed look. Wasn’t it him who asked for that decent looking guy’s number and promised they would join?</p><p>“Fuck you guys! My future wife is the one in charge of that stupid club, o-fucking-course I’ll join!”</p><p>“Your future wife?” Sehun asked, giving Jongin a look. Jongin shrugged, not bothering to get engaged in a stupid conversation this early in the morning, he was still hangover for god’s sake.</p><p>“Don’t tell me Kim Junmyeon is your future wife? Dude, that’s so not cool!” Jongin rolled his eyes at that, his cousin was as straight as an arrow and he had a girlfriend for crying out loud, everyone knew that. Jongdae wasn’t going to get anywhere if he actually had his eye on Junmyeon of all people.   </p><p>“Not everyone’s gay like you Byun. It’s Zhang Liyin-ssam!”</p><p>“Our Art teacher?”</p><p>“Everyone’s little gay, it’s scientifically proven. As Freud says we’re all born bisexual, there’s no such thing as full-fledged heterosexuality. You should read about it you ignorant prick.” Baekhyun was ignored as Sehun continued pestering Jongdae about telling him more about why and how the hell he fell for their art teacher of all people.</p><p>“Who’s Freud though?” Trust Chanyeol to bring insignificant topics up, Baekhyun’s eyes lit up and was about to lecture them all about whom this Freud guy was when his holly majesty Sehun interrupted with his signature crooked smile on display.</p><p>“Baekhyun’s dad.” They burst out laughing at that, all except for Jongin who found them too annoyingly loud for his pounding head. It wasn't even that funny. He fixed his beanie and was about to excuse himself and leave when his gaze settled on a familiar figure.</p><p>It was the guy with the droopy eyes and deep dimples from earlier. The guy was leaning casually against a wall in front of them, waiting for Junmyeon to get his order as it seemed. Not that Jongin noticed, but the dude had a really fit body. He wondered briefly why Junmyeon came to them to get girls when he already had that guy in his club. Jongin blinked at the dark haired guy, not sure why he found him so interesting. Maybe because he’s never seen him before, Jongin concluded—or more like tried to convince himself. Why would someone who looked like that hang with Junmyeon of all people? And join a baking club of all places? Jongin couldn’t help but frown at the thought.</p><p>The boy was frowning slightly at a banana milk box he was holding, wrinkling his nose as he mouthed whatever it read on the said box with an astonishing amount of concentration. If Jongin was a girl, he would have found the guy adorable, but Jongin wasn’t a girl so the guy was simply weird to him.</p><p>Jongin observed the guy with a raised brow in amusement as he failed to put the straw into its designed hole, feeling slightly like a stalker but quickly brushing the irrelevant sensation away. He wasn’t stalking him, or being a creep, he was simply intrigued by him. The stranger was clearly feeble-minded or something of that sort, that would explain why he would join an absurd after school activity like a baking club. Even girls in their school were smart enough to not link their names into something as ridiculous as that. Junmyeon was in every single damn club in their school so he was excused, and so was Kyungsoo since he was his cousin’s best friend. Now Jongin was curious to know why that guy chose to join the club, maybe he should ask Junmyeon later or something.</p><p> </p><p>“Yeah, he’s pretty hot. It runs in their blood apparently, it’s like their genes are infused with gold or something! He’s Zhang Liyin-ssam’s nephew.” Or not. Jongin tore his gaze from the dimpled strange boy only to find all his friends staring at him as well.</p><p>“He was so into me earlier when he came to ask us to join, wasn’t he Chanyeol?” Baekhyun gave his taller friend a pointed look and Chanyeol nodded with a serious face. Jongdae didn’t look convinced though, so Baekhyun brought his phone out and showed him the boy’s number. “Here you go, Zhang Yixing. He even asked for my number, take that camel face!”</p><p>“I’m willing to bet on Chanyeol’s virgin ass that it was you who asked for his number first.”</p><p>“Is that why he joined the club? Because his aunt is the one in charge?” Jongin cleared his throat before asking, faking nonchalance as he made a show of scrolling through his phone. They gave him a look, because it was the first time he actually cared to join-in in their conversation.</p><p>“Eh, I guess, I don’t really know. I mean, he’s new here, maybe he’s just trying to make some friends.” Jongdae shrugged as he took a sip of his long forgotten coke. Jongin blinked at him before glancing back at the black haired dude only to find him staring right back at him. The tan skinned teen quickly averted his gaze elsewhere as if he was electrified. He felt a heat creep over his face at the thought of being caught staring.</p><p>“Yixing just sent me a text!” Baekhyun howled, making everyone in the cafeteria glance at them. Jongin groaned before burying his face into his arms. He was so done with Byun Baekhyun.</p><p>“What does it say?” Sehun enquired with a bored tone as he poked the remaining of his burger with a fork.</p><p>“It reads: Dear Baekhyun, in order to convince you to join us come meet me after school, I’d like to show you just how good I can get with my hands.” Baekhyun wiggled his brows at them after reading that, not caring one bit at the looks he was getting from his friends. Jongin groaned even deeper into his arms.</p><p>“Cut the crap, Zhang is not gay Baekhyun. Stop daydreaming, it won’t happen. Now tell us what he actually said, that is if the message even exists.” An unimpressed Jongdae deadpanned.</p><p>“Okay, fine! I hate you so much, why the fuck did I even introduce you to my squad! You can’t stop me from daydreaming though, I’m willing to bet on Chanyeol’s virgin—“</p><p>“Okay, that’s enough, stop dragging me into these stupid bets! And fuck you both! I am not a virgin!” Chanyeol was ignored completely as Baekhyun kept on his dramatic burst out without casting him a glance.   </p><p>“—ass that he’s already head over heels for me or why else would he tell me they are having a meeting this afternoon after school you fuckface?!”</p><p>“Okay chill.” Sehun mentioned for Jongdae with a hand to not dare open his mouth, those two were giving him a serious headache with their stupid banter. “Are you going then, Baek?”</p><p>“Hell yeah I’m going!”</p><p>“Jongdae?”</p><p>“My wife’s gonna be there, of course I’m going!” Sehun gave them both a look that screamed ‘I’m disappointed in you guys’ before poking Jongin’s arm to see what his thoughts were on this.</p><p>“What about you? Are you in or what?” Jongin raised a brow in disbelief at his supposed best friend, not believing he was actually asking him if he was keen on wasting his precious time in some baking club crap.</p><p>“I heard Seolhyun’s gonna be there, she apparently needs extra credits or something.” Jongin glared at Chanyeol, he was not going to be tricked by a basic lie like that one. Seolhyun was the coolest girl in their grade, she would never join something as trivial as a baking club, not even for extra credits, and Jongin was sure of that, she was his kinda crush after all.</p><p>“Bullshit.”</p><p>“Actually, Chanyeol is surprisingly not making shit up. I saw her name on the list when I signed up yesterday.” Jongdae offered with a sincere smile.</p><p> </p><p>♡</p><p> </p><p>And that’s how a few hours later Jongin found himself awkwardly making his way towards the last classroom in the hallway. It was their high school lab during school hours and apparently a baking club after school. Jongin was wearing the same clothes from earlier in the morning, and he felt kind of stupid for agreeing into coming, since he wasn’t in his best condition to talk to his long time crush.</p><p>Sometimes Jongin wondered if he actually liked her, or if it was simply Sehun pushing him into liking her that made him play along and make himself believe that he actually did like her. It was complicated, and definitely not the right time to go all philosophical about something as trivial as a high school crush.  </p><p>When he finally got to the classroom and pushed the door open, it was painfully obvious that his friends have bailed on him. He was already half an hour late, there was no way in hell they were late as well. Not even Jongdae—who claimed he had a wife here—has made an appearance. Jongin felt like banging his head with the wall in frustration. Fucking hell, not even Seolhyun was there.</p><p>Jongin made a move to step back and leave but Junmyeon was fast enough to call after him and make everyone in the room glance up at him. Jongin felt too exposed, he felt like dying as heat crept its way to his face.</p><p>“Jongin!” His cousin walked over to him with a wide grin, clad in a baby blue apron that made him look ridiculous. “What a lovely surprise! I didn’t expect you would come to be honest...”</p><p>“Eh...” Jongin took a shaky breath in, not exactly sure if darting out of the door was a wise choice or not. Kyungsoo came with a whisk in hand, clad in a blue apron as well but a slightly darker shade than Junmyeon’s—and if Jongin didn’t know better he’d say those two were definitely dating. They were joined at the hip for crying out loud, when did his cousin even find time for his presumed girlfriend? Jongin shook the thought away, he was slowly becoming a ‘Baekhyun’ and that was a big no no. “I thought I’d give it a try, I had nothing better to do so...”</p><p>“That’s great! I really appreciate you coming Jongin, most guys would chicken out thinking baking is reserved for girls...or sissies. Some of the guys we asked said that, and that it’s too boring for them...” Junmyeon said, a pout forming on his thin lips. “But it’s not! It’s really the opposite, it’s fun! Seriously it’s really really fun and—”   </p><p>“That’s enough Junmyeon he gets it. Here,” Kyungsoo handed him the whisk he was holding. “Take this and go over there with your baking partner.” The doe eyed male pointed to the only person who was alone in the room, and for Jongin’s luck it was exactly the guy he didn’t really want to talk to. It just felt weird talking to someone you’ve been thinking about the whole day.</p><p>“Can’t I just...like...work alone or something?” Junmyeon tilted his head in confusion at him while Kyungsoo gave a look that screamed ‘what’s your problem?’. “Or with you Junmyeon hyung?”</p><p>“Why?” Both shorter males blinked at him in a mix of confusion and anticipation and Jongin found himself stuck. He threw a quick glance at the man he’s been watching this morning only to find him staring right back at him, he seemed lost in some sort of daze. Jongin ignored his cousin as he made his way towards the strange male. Maybe if he got to know him he’ll finally get over that weird sensation he felt every time they locked eyes.</p><p> </p><p>“Hi.” Jongin tried to sound as casual as possible, smoothly making his way around the ceramic lab table and standing right next to the other boy who seemed to slowly wake up from his daze.</p><p>“Hey!” They stood in silence for a long while. Jongin awkwardly touching the whisk he was holding while trying but failing to not glance at the boy standing next to him every two seconds, while the latter on the other hand kept making the cooking utensils fall and even broke a measuring cup that was made of glass, making Junmyeon throw a mean glare at him. He was obviously nervous, though Jongin couldn’t tell why. The boy was no longer wearing that white dress shirt and black ripped jeans from morning. He was clad in what looked like a comfortable dark sweater and plain blue jeans cuffed at the bottom. He still looked fit even with his hair down, Jongin noted with a raised brow.</p><p>“I’m Kim Jongin by the way.” Jongin introduced himself, offering his hand for the other guy to shake. If he was going to spend his evening stuck in here he was better off making himself comfortable with his assigned cooking partner with small chit-chats rather than just stand there and keep on stealing awkward glances like the creep he was.</p><p>“I know. You’re Kim Junmyeon’s cousin right?” Jongin gave a short nod at that, taking the other boy’s slender hand into his to give it a short-lived firm shake. He wondered briefly how the dark haired boy managed to keep his hand so soft and smooth like that, it was baffling really, it was as soft as girls’ hands if not even softer. Jongin shook the thought away as quick as it came; it was none of his business how a stranger’s hand felt like. The other guy can wear a skirt for all he cares, Jongin wouldn’t bat an eyelash, like seriously he wouldn’t, he’d be too busy staring. Jongin was mature enough to admit that the boy had some really nice thighs. God, what was happening to him? “I’m Zhang Yixing, Junmyeon’s classmate.”</p><p>“Cool...” Jongin wouldn’t exactly classify himself as a social-butterfly, he was a man of few words. It was mostly Sehun who did the talking between the two of them, even though Sehun himself was not much of a talker. Other people would usually initiate conversation with him either because they liked him or because they liked Sehun. He didn’t have to put much effort into gaining acquaintances because he had a handsome face, Sehun once said. It was both a blessing and a curse.</p><p>Jongin checked his phone with a deep frown to see if any of his friends have bothered to tell him why the hell they didn’t show up till now, he was rewarded by empty excuses that made his grip tighten so hard on the poor device it nearly broke.</p><p> </p><p>‘Forgot i had a date with this college babe ;)) sorry Kkamjong~’ KJD</p><p> ‘FUKK! THE MEETING WAS 2DAY ??????? ToT;;;’ PCY</p><p>‘I have better things to do.’ OSH</p><p>‘I have a pimple the size of Chan’s left ball man, kiss yxng for meh alright? ‘,;’^} sorry bruh’ BBH</p><p> </p><p>“Are you here for the free alcohol?” Jongin brought his head up from the phone screen and blinked at the other boy for a few seconds before shaking his head no.</p><p>“I’m here because my friends are dicks.” Yixing chuckled at that. Jongin stared at him blankly, not liking one bit the way his heart was reacting to the boy’s melodic laugh and twinkling brown eyes. “What about you, why are you here?”</p><p>“For the free alcohol obviously.” Yixing said with a smug grin and Jongin couldn’t help but notice how deep the boy’s dimples were.</p><p>“Really?” The pale male cleared his throat, before moving his hand up to rub the back of his neck sheepishly.</p><p>“Nuh, I actually really like baking stuff. I don’t even drink...”</p><p>“Speaking of free booze, how come teenagers like you guys, a baking club of all places have easy access to alcohol? I mean, isn’t Zhang Liyin-ssam supervising you guys or something? I don’t get it.”</p><p>“Oh, eh, we’re making boozy cakes for next week’s Christmas party. Not many students will attend it anyways since it’ll be crowded with teachers, so it’s mostly just adults consuming these cakes...and us. If we feel like it that is.”</p><p>“Oh, but how would you know whether your boozy cakes tastes good or not if you don’t drink?” Before Yixing can answer, a stupidly grinning Junmyeon cut them off as he popped up from nowhere with a frowning Kyungsoo to his side, holding two matching yellow aprons.  </p><p>“I see you two are hitting it off!” Junmyeon cackled, Yixing blushed and Jongin glared. “Sorry Yixing-ah, we don’t have any purple aprons left, these yellow ones are the only ones available at the moment.” Kyungsoo handed the two their respective aprons with a small-barely-there heart shaped smile. It was a pity Kyungsoo didn’t smile much, he had a really nice smile, Jongin mused with a raised brow.</p><p>“It’s fine, Junmyeon. These are nice too.”</p><p>“So what are you guys making? Kyungsoo and I are making some banana cupcakes with Bou—what are we making again?” Kyungsoo rolled his eyes at that, explaining to the two with pride lacing his every word that they were making banana cupcakes with bourbon butterscotch filling and toasted marshmallow frosting. Jongin’s mouth watered at that while an exited Junmyeon simply patted his partner’s shoulder with a satisfied grin. “Yes we’re making that! I’m so glad you came cousin!”</p><p>“Yeah...”</p><p>“That sounds delicious!” Yixing brought out a little notebook from his backpack, dimples deep and eyes wide as he shared what he had in mind for the rest to judge. “I’m thinking of making some dark chocolate cupcakes with chocolate Chambord ganache, what do you guys think?”</p><p>“I think they’ll turn out pretty awesome, I have faith in your skilled hands Yixing!” Both Kyungsoo and Junmyeon gave the flustered boy a thumbs up before moving towards another couple in another table. Jongin however couldn’t help but blush when that stupid text message Baekhyun made up—earlier when they were having launch—about Yixing’s hands popped up into his mind. Jongin frowned; he hated Byun Baekhyun so damn much.    </p><p>“What’s wrong? Do you have something else in mind? I don’t mind you know, you can pick whatever you want us to make and I’m down with it.”</p><p>“No, I’m fine with whatever you’re making. I’m not coming to any more meetings so...” Jongin didn’t even bother putting his apron on, it’s not like he was planning on coming back to this stupid get together again. He only made an appearance because Chanyeol lied about his kinda-crush going to be here. He’ll make sure to punch his friend’s perfect set of teeth off when they’ll meet at school tomorrow—or maybe he’ll go pay him a little visit at the end of this ridiculous gathering.</p><p>“Oh...” Jongin glanced up at that, only to find Yixing staring right back at him with a hint of disappointment in his chocolate brown eyes. He noted afterwards that it has started to rain since they were standing with their backs to the window. Jongin cursed at his shitty luck, this was all he needed, a fucking rainstorm to fuck his day up even more.</p><p>“Junmyeon hyung!” Jongin called after his cousin, already adjusting his beanie to flee from this place. Yixing kept giving him curious glances and Jongin felt kind of sorry for having to leave the boy for his own. Junmyeon walked over to them with a hesitant smile, this time Kyungsoo refused to budge from his position as he skillfully whisked his frosting cream with a light frown.</p><p>“Hey Jongin-ah! Do you need anything?”</p><p>“Yeah, I’m leaving, just wanted you to know.” Jongin made his way around the table, attempting to get the hell out of that classroom but was abruptly stopped by Junmyeon’s hand grabbing into wrist.</p><p>“Why? What’s wrong?” Junmyeon asked, curiously glancing at a pouting Yixing with furrowed brows.</p><p>“It’s raining.” Jongin simply shrugged; like that one simple sentence was enough of an excuse for him to leave.</p><p>“Okay...so why—I mean are you sure you want to leave this early? We’re just getting started...” Junmyeon gave his cousin a hopeful gaze—or what he supposed was a 'puppy dog eyes' face.</p><p>“It’s better if I leave now, before it gets worse hyung. I don’t have a ride so...”</p><p>“I’ll give you a ride!” Yixing cried out making both males raise their brows sceptically at him.</p><p>“You don’t have to...” Yixing was already taking his yellow apron off and shoving his notebook into his backpack. Junmyeon’s shoulders slumped in defeat, if they didn’t feel like staying anymore he wasn’t going to push them or force his cousin to stay. He clearly wasn’t fond of baking, or of being there to begin with, Junmyeon suspected Jongin lost a bet to his friends or something and that’s why he looked so grumpy being there, even someone as obvious as Junmyeon could tell his cousin didn’t want to be there.     </p><p>Yixing however...  </p><p>“Let’s go!”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>♡low quality content for high quality shippers♡<br/>♡stay safe and healthy♡</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. 2/4</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“Let’s go!”</p><p> </p><p>It was weird and uncomfortable and Jongin wanted to kill himself.</p><p>They walked together in a deafening silence, both too awkward to strike up a conversation. It was useless anyways, since none of the two knew the other. They were pretty much strangers, and Jongin couldn’t help but frown the whole way towards the exit. Did he have to open that mouth of his and offer him a ride? In front of Junmyeon of all people? What for? So they can walk in silence and avoid eye contact at all cost? What was the point of this?</p><p> </p><p>It irritated him. He hated people, and he hated it even more when people tried to socialize with him against his will. Assuming that was what the Chinese male was trying to get at. Jongin had enough friends already, one more and he’ll seriously start considering suicide. It’s not like Yixing didn’t seem interesting to know, but Jongin just didn’t want to associate himself with any of Junmyeon’s friends. He had his fair share of nerdy acquaintances.</p><p>Jongin sighed in agony before taking a quick glance at Yixing only to find him doing the exact same thing. They locked eyes for a split second, before both boys jerked their heads the opposite way while clearing their throats in sheer embarrassment. The tan skinned boy wanted the ground to swallow him up and save him from this hell he was going through; getting caught staring twice a day was impossibly humiliating to say the least. Hopefully Yixing felt the same as him, since they were pretty much in the same boat.</p><p> </p><p>♡</p><p> </p><p>“Where did you park your car?” Jongin asked when they finally got to the exit door; a dark grey sky greeting them. It was freezing cold, and Jongin regretted listening to his friends and not going straight back home after he finished his classes. He felt like an idiot. He was played by his own presumed best friends. Jongin groaned under his breath at the thought, before bringing his focus back on Yixing.</p><p>“Yixing-ssi?”</p><p>“Huh?” The boy simply blinked at him and Jongin blinked back before calmly re-asking.</p><p>“Where’s your car?”</p><p>“I don’t have a car.” It was official, this day was by far the worst day in Kim Jongin’s entire life. The tan skinned male gaped in disbelief at the other boy for a minute before choking his next words out.</p><p>“Why did you offer me a ride then? Were you planning to piggyback me back home or something?” Jongin didn’t mean for his tone to come out rude but the Chinese male was getting under his skin, and it took every fibre of his being to not punch the guy. Yixing had the audacity to laugh, as if what Jongin said was a light joke meant to make him react that way.</p><p>“I have a bike,” Yixing gave the frowning taller man a sheepish dimpled smile. “The blue one over there.” Yixing pointed with a dainty finger and Jongin wanted nothing more than to break it in half. The situation he found himself stuck in was completely absurd. He only agreed to coming to this stupid club so he can somehow befriend Seolhyun and win her heart over, yet he ended up being stuck with this lunatic who kept smiling at him with those damned dimples of his. As if it was perfectly normal for two male strangers to share a bike under the rain. Well, maybe it was, but still.</p><p>“Are you serious right now?” Yixing simply hummed in response, bringing out a transparent umbrella from a random locker and handing it to a baffled Jongin.</p><p>“I love the rain.” Yixing shared, voice soft and merely above a whisper. Jongin just stared at Yixing’s moving figure as he walked towards his blue bike. After only a few steps forward, Yixing turned around titling his head in confusion.</p><p>It was kind of adorable, the way his messy fringe fell over his droopy eyes.</p><p>Jongin quickly shook the thought away, because nothing was adorable about getting soaked under the pouring rain.</p><p>“Are you coming?” At that moment Jongin realized he hated the rain. He also hated humanity and the essence of existence. He gave the umbrella one last glance before forcing his feet to move. Between flashing lightning and reverberating thunder, Yixing kept talking about how nice the weather was, how it reminded him of his childhood, especially his grandmother’s warm hugs and delicious handmade food. Jongin was beyond perplexed to say anything as he held the umbrella for both of them. He was Yixing’s manservant as it seemed.</p><p>They got to the bike and suddenly the awkward silence was back. They stood next to it for a few minutes that felt like hours; both not exactly sure of what was supposed to happen next. Was Yixing supposed to ask Jongin if he wanted to be the one riding it? Since he knew some guys had problems with their Man pride or whatever. Yixing wouldn’t mind though, he was okay with sitting at the back. Jongin kept staring at him, waiting for him to say something since he was the one looking down and avoiding eye contact. He was the one who owned the bike for god’s sake.</p><p>“Is there a problem with your bike or something?” Jongin asked, finally breaking the silence. He was seriously getting irritated with the Chinese male. He overlooked the fact that Yixing offered him a ride with a stupid bicycle while it was raining cats and dogs outside, he overlooked the fact that he had to hold the other guy’s umbrella like he was some freaking princess, but now Yixing was being too much. Just standing there staring at his feet while Jongin froze to death. Jongin wanted to go home god damn it!</p><p>“Eh, no...” Yixing hugged himself; pale cheeks slowly turning a soft shade of pink. Jongin couldn’t tell if it was by self-consciousness or the biting cold. “Would you like to ride or would you rather I—eh, I mean...pedal it?” Yixing scratched the back of his neck in embarrassment, looking lost and confused. Jongin kind of pitied him—kind of.</p><p>“Can we please just get going? My balls are freezing!” Yixing blushed darkly at that before positioning himself at the back seat without a word. He extended his hand to take his umbrella from Jongin before fixing his gaze on the ground; cheeks burning and teeth sinking into his plump lower lip.</p><p>Jongin couldn’t understand what the boy’s deal was. Long gone was the confident guy who tried to lure them in this morning with free alcohol. Maybe his haircut had something to do with his shift of personality. Jongin mused to himself while getting on the bike.</p><p>The minute Jongin was about to press on the pedal, an arm came circling its way around his torso. The tanned boy almost jumped out of his skin. He wasn’t exaggerating, he truly wasn’t. It’s just that the whole situation was already too weird for him to handle, he didn’t need physical contact with another man—a stranger man for god’s sake—to make it even worse. A stranger, that for some reason made his heartbeat speed up. Jongin was definitely getting the flu—or already had it for that matter.</p><p>He hoped he wasn’t being mean or rude as he carefully took Yixing’s arm off his torso with a pointed look. Seriously they were strangers, being all touchy feely was a big no no. It was too awkward, especially since they were both dudes.</p><p>“What’s wrong?”</p><p>“Can you please just hold on into my backseat or something?” Because Jongin wasn’t really a complete douche to tell the boy he was being a total creep and get his filthy hand off him.</p><p>As a response, the Chinese male simply blinked at him in confusion. It seemed like Yixing’s Korean vocabulary was a bit lacking—or maybe he was playing dumb. Maybe he liked Jongin—like don’t get him wrong, but Jongin was highly aware that both girls and boys were attracted to him. He didn’t really mind, as long as they keep their distance from him. But then again Yixing didn’t look gay, not that people can look gay, but it’s just—well Zhang Yixing doesn’t behave like Byun Baekhyun does, as simple as that. And for Jongin the term ‘homosexual’ equalled freaking ‘Byun Baekhyun’. Jongdae did say Yixing wasn’t gay though, but what would he know? Why was Jongin even thinking about the other boy’s sexuality? Jongin blinked in daze for a moment until he realized he was staring back at Yixing, who once again stared right back at him shamelessly.</p><p>“What...?” Apparently Jongin completely forgot what was going on.</p><p>“I like your beanie.” There was a moment of silence where only the sound of raindrops hitting the pavement was heard from the background. Time seemed to stop as they simply blinked at each other while Yixing’s transparent umbrella shielded them from the pouring rain, like some sort of a cheesy Japanese drama. This day couldn’t get any weirder, the tanned male decided.</p><p>Jongin was beyond lost and Yixing looked amused for some reason. “Why are you wearing all black though? I’ve noticed you wear a lot of black. It’s none of my business I know but...you look kind of depressed. I personally think pastel colours would look great on you.”</p><p>Apparently it could get weirder.</p><p>“I don’t like people touching me.”</p><p>“Excuse me?” Yixing had the audacity to look confused. “What do you mean?”</p><p>“I mean, get your hand off me. It’s uncomfortable.” A startling beam of lightning flashed in the sky the same time as Yixing burst out into a chuckle. Coincidence? Think not! Yixing was definitely an evil imp that was summoned by his so called friends to mess up with him. It was terrifying, Jongin was genuinely freaking out.</p><p>“I’m sorry.” Yixing said in between chuckles and Jongin for some reason blushed a deep red at the sight. Remember, he had the flu so don’t take it against him. Although, Yixing looked anything but an evil imp when he laughed. Jongin was impressed—kind of, he was still a bit scared. “I’m sorry if I made you feel uncomfortable. I didn’t mean to.”</p><p>“...okay. Alright. Can we just...get going then? We can start by you grabbing into the backseat instead of my waist, please. Can you do that for me?”</p><p>“I can’t grab into the backseat while holding the umbrella though? I won’t be able to balance it.”</p><p>“Are you freaking kidding me right now?” Yixing bit hard on his lower lip to stop a smile from blooming, shallow dimples making Jongin want to both punch and kiss him at the same time. Jongin had no idea where that last thought came from; his already red face darkening in shade.</p><p>“No!” Yixing—once again—burst out laughing. This time Jongin couldn’t help but smile lightly at the adorable sight. He didn’t want to encourage him, but at the same time he couldn’t really help it. “No, but seriously I can’t. I’m not doing this on purpose Jongin, I swear I’m not some sort of a creepy fangirl of yours who’s trying to molest you against your will or something. I really can’t hold the umbrella while grabbing into the backseat. I’ll probably fall down.”</p><p>“Why should I trust you? You literally confessed to stalking me when you mentioned how I wear black all the time.” Yixing’s happy aura shifted into a panicked one, bright smile dying down into a thin line. Jongin couldn’t understand why his heart clenched at Yixing’s sudden mood shift. “It’s not like you’re any better though. You’re wearing dark clothes as well.”</p><p>Jongin gave the boy a small smile, for some insane reason hoping he’ll smile back at him and stop looking like a miserable kicked puppy. Jongin loved puppies and he would never dare kick one, in this absurd situation it seemed like Yixing was a puppy that got kicked by Jongin and he needed to fix it—fast.</p><p>“I don’t want you to fall down.” Jongin shifted in his seat, not bearing looking at Yixing while saying that. He silently took the boy’s hand and placed it on his own stomach; hating himself for feeling slightly electrified by touching Yixing’s soft slender hand. Touching Yixing made him feel weird—in a good way, which was even weirder. What was happening to him? What was wrong with him? Jongin’s brows furrowed on their own as he felt his heartbeat pounding like mad when Yixing leaned closer against him.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>♡low quality content for high quality shippers♡<br/>♡stay safe and healthy♡</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. 3/4</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>‘I don’t want you to fall down’—what? What did that even mean? Where did that even come from? Was Jongin going mad? Seriously? Who even was he at this point, god knows Jongin himself had no clue anymore. Yes, his heart was beating like crazy with Yixing’s warmth and sensual scent eating him up alive, but that wasn’t an excuse for him to blurt out rubbish out of him mouth now was it? What would Sehun say if he found out? Baekhyun would have a blast mocking him that’s for sure. Jongin shook his head at the image of a proudly grinning Baekhyun soaking up in his misery and dared to take a glance back at Yixing. Hoping—praying he was as uncomfortable as Jongin was.</p><p> </p><p>Okay, maybe he was overreacting a bit, ‘cause Zhang Yixing seemed completely clueless about the turmoil Jongin was going through. He was dozing off, clearly, mouth gaping and eyes unfocused. Jongin was starting to worry, he seemed to do that quite a lot.</p><p>“We’re here.” Jongin announced, eyes glued to Yixing’s gaping mouth. Rain was still going strong and Jongin was getting seriously worried about the Chinese male’s mental health as it took him a moment to wake up from his daze and catch Jongin’s gaze with a warm smile.</p><p>Yixing bashfully asked for a change of clothes and if he could take a shower at the younger’s house, and Jongin got even more confused and uncomfortable not knowing how he’s going to deal with the other boy’s presence in his house.</p><p>“I’m completely soaked,” Yixing chuckled sheepishly, wet hair sticking to his forehead. “The umbrella didn’t do much I guess.”</p><p>“Eh…yeah I guess.” Jongin didn’t mind really, yeah sure whatever, Yixing was soaked and Jongin wasn’t cruel enough to ask him to leave like that. Jongin was raised well, and Yixing was a pretty nice dude, hell he’d rather have Yixing in his house than any of those rats he called friends.</p><p>“You have a beautiful garden Jongin-ssi!”</p><p>“Eh…” That was random. “Thank you…” Jongin stepped off of the bicycle and waited for Yixing to follow him to his house, not sure how to feel anymore. Yixing smiled uncertainly at Jongin before grabbing the younger boy’s arm to stop him in his tracks.</p><p>“Look…” Yixing took a deep breath and Jongin was yet again confused. “I—“</p><p>“Yes…?”</p><p>“I don’t want to make you uncomfortable, like—I mean if your parents are not okay with strangers in your house I completely understand and I’ll just leave and go dry up at my own house—“ Jongin arched his brows in confusion.</p><p>“What?”</p><p>“Never mind, I’m leaving!” Yixing was back on his bike and as he was about to pedal and wave goodbye to Jongin, the younger boy blocked his way, still unbearably confused and a tad bit irritated, hoping to understand what was going on.</p><p>“I’m sorry what?” Jongin looked so lost Yixing almost cackled if he wasn’t as distressed and confused himself at his own abrupt action. “What’s going on?”</p><p>“I don’t really want to bother you Jongin-ssi…”</p><p>“You already did.” Yixing couldn’t stop his mouth from dropping in shock at Jongin’s brutally honest statement. “We’re at my house, might as well come in since we’re already here.”Jongin deadpanned and Yixing gulped. True, he asked for this, more like forced Jongin to ride his bike and drive it through this rainstorm. He was being annoying and Yixing hated that Jongin was getting irritated because of him. Jongin was about to talk again when Yixng cut him off by a loud sneeze.</p><p>“That’s it, you’re coming in whether you like it or not.” Yixing had no choice but to oblige and follow Jongin’s suit. The garden was indeed breathtaking, the house was nothing impressive, but the garden made it look like it was a house straight out of a fairytale book.</p><p>“Let me guess, your mom likes gardening?” Yixing stared in awe at the nicely laid out flowers and majestically dancing petals of trees as they fell down along with raindrops. It even had a ceramic fountain, Yixing was in love. The Chinese male was reminded by his grandmother’s skilled gardening techniques and passion for everything botanic.</p><p>“Nah, it’s actually my dad who maintains this garden, whenever he’s around that is.”</p><p>“Oh, that’s cool. He did a great job, it’s beautiful.”</p><p>“Yeah, it is, I guess.” Jongin scratched the back of his head sheepishly. “I help too, sometimes…” Unsure of why exactly he added that part, Jongin opted to simply brush off whatever Yixing said to that unnecessary addition and push the entrance door with a deep sigh.</p><p> </p><p>It should have felt weird having a complete stranger standing in the middle of his entryway looking around in awe as he took in the oddly shaped mirrors, huge paintings and colorful decor pieces adorning the walls and corners all around him, yet it didn’t. It didn’t feel weird at all. Actually, the tanned male couldn’t help but wonder what Yixing thought of his mother’s interior design taste.</p><p>Jongin stared at Yixing in anticipation, not sure what he was supposed to say, after all it was his house, and Yixing was kind of his guest. A ‘Welcome to my house!’ maybe? Or perhaps a simple ‘We’re home.’ Eh, no. No, absolutely no way. What did that even mean? ‘We’re home.’ Were they newlyweds or something? Jongin decided to simply keep quiet and stare until Yixing initiated a conversation. Yixing kept looking around, seemingly unaware of Jongin’s turmoil until finally deciding to look back at Jongin with a soft smile.</p><p>“Lovely house, Jongin.” Jongin blinked at that and answered with a nod and a short ‘Yeah’. Yixing blinked back at him and for a moment they stood in the entryway simply staring at each other. Jongin felt like it was his cue to strike up a conversation or show Yixing the way to the bathroom or anything but stand there and lock eyes with the complete stranger. It wasn’t uncomfortable, per se, but at the same time it felt like Jongin was drowning, the more he stared at Yixing’s caramel eyes the deeper he got dragged in some metaphorical ocean. His heartbeat was starting to pick up the pace a bit and his palms were getting sweatier by the minute. A heart attack, yes, that would definitely explain the symptoms. Jongin gulped as he stared more at an oddly calm Yixing who stared back, looking serene and unbothered.</p><p>The staring contest was short-lived as both boys got startled by a loudly ringing phone. It took Jongin a moment to come to the realization that it was probably his mother calling to check in on him since it was the house phone that almost made his heart jump out of his throat.</p><p>Jongin cleared his throat before pointing at a door way back in the hallway mouthing a ‘Bathroom’ at Yixing before running to pick up the phone. Yixing thanked him quietly before heading towards the said door. For a split second Jongin’s gaze lowered to meet Yixing’s bum as it walked away from him, and yes Jongin blamed Baekhyun for making him do that, give him a god damn break, the boy had a nice ass. Yes, phone, mother is calling, Jongin reasoned as he tore his gaze from Yixing’s gracefully walking silhouette and run to answer his probably—not—so—pleased—mother by now.</p><p>The phone call was basically an interrogation that consisted of his mother asking him questions and him either giving short answers or humming a yes or no. His father was still away and his sisters were no longer living with them which apparently gave his mother a reason to baby him and treat him as if he knew no better. She wasn’t wrong though, he did spend his alone time in the house smoking weed and watching questionable porn instead of doing anything remotely productive. No regrets, Jongin thought as he hung the phone after bidding his mother goodbye.</p><p>He looked back at the door of the bathroom where Yixing was probably taking a shower, and huffed under his breath before heading towards the kitchen. His mother was not coming back home after work, something about going to dinner with her sister or whatever, Jongin wasn’t really paying attention if he had to be honest, especially since all his thoughts for some twisted reason consisted of nothing but ‘Zhang Yixing. Naked. In his house’—yes, he knew, Baekhyun’s fault, no need to remind him.</p><p>He walked with steady steps towards the kitchen, not sure what he was supposed to do now. He had the house all to himself, he could do whatever.</p><p>“I should make us something.” Jongin made up his mind as he brought out some bread and whatever ingredients edible and available for the making of a sandwich. Maybe he should call his friends and have them over? Jongin entertained the thought, but quickly dismissed it as he cut into a tomato while imagining it Jongdae’s bald head. Those assholes, it was because of them he got fooled, embarrassed and drenched in the pouring rain while riding a bicycle. Specifically, Jongdae’s fault, for he was the one who suggested joining a baking club and even dared to lie about Seolhyun being part of it.</p><p>Now Jongin was stuck making sandwiches for a stranger in the middle of his kitchen. What if he was a stalker of his? Or a psychopath plotting to murder him now that he was all alone in his house with no one to rescue him. Jongin laughed at the thought, Yixing was way too sweet for that, absolutely no way.</p><p> </p><p>“Hey.” Jongin jumped at the sudden interruption, when did Yixing even get to the kitchen to begin with. Alright, perhaps Jongin was wrong, Yixing could turn out to be a serial killer, a sweet one maybe, but a killer nonetheless.</p><p>“Hi.” Jongin had his back to Yixing since he was busy making food on the counter, the tanned male titled his head back to look at Yixing only to freeze in his spot with a gaping mouth.</p><p>Yixing was standing there wearing nothing but an oversized shirt and boxers. Jongin’s oversized shirt and boxers.</p><p>“Was it your mom on the phone? Is she alright?”</p><p>“Huh?” Jongin dropped the knife and slowly turned around so he could face Yixing, his eyes taking in the boy in front of him. Dark hair dripping wet, milky thighs exposed with red spots adorning the said legs, most likely due to the shower heat. What was happening to him? Yixing was a boy just like him, this was normal, this shouldn’t feel odd. However, he was the one being odd. “Yeah,” Jongin chocked up that word before clearing his throat. “Mom’s not coming home tonight, she’s meeting up with her sister.”</p><p>“Oh, alright.” Yixing smiled and looked down for a second before bringing his gaze up to lock it with Jongin’s. The younger stared back as Yixing walked closer—dangerously so. Jongin clenched his fists, feeling a heat crawl all over his face as Yixing was close enough for him to feel his warm breath.</p><p>“What—“ Whatever he was about to say was swiftly cut off when Yixing closed the distance between them and softly pecked his plump lips. His brain stopped, his heart most likely stopped as well, and here he was one again drowning in that damned metaphorical ocean. His brain couldn't process what was happening and Yixing took the opportunity to kiss him once again, a bit more sensually this time. Hands tightly secured around his hips and hooded eyes closed as if they were more than used to this. Jongin knew he had to do something, this needed to stop—whatever this was.</p><p>“Do you want me to stop? Yixing mouthed against his jawline, and Jongin couldn’t find his voice; simply nodding in confirmation. Yixing pushed himself off and Jongin was about to breathe when Yixing crouched down all of a sudden and reached for his zipper. This time around Jongin couldn’t keep quiet, he screamed—actually screamed—startling Yixing who seemed focused on opening that stubborn zipper of his.</p><p>“Stop!” Yixing eyed him carefully from down where he was, clearly confused. “I—what the fuck are you doing?” Jongin took a long deep breath before pulling his zipper back to how it was; chest heaving and heart pounding. “What is wrong with you?”</p><p>“I don’t understand—“ Jongin closed his eyes shut at Yixing’s breathy voice, the position they were in was too intimate and highly compromising. Yixing was about to suck his dick, like, what? The reality hit him hard, and suddenly he couldn’t breathe. He was on the verge of hyperventilating. “Jongin, are you okay?”</p><p>“No!” Jongin yelled. “Get up! What the fuck is wrong with you!”</p><p>“I’m sorry,” Yixing quickly got up on his feet, sheer panic reflecting in his eyes. “Clearly I misread the signals, I—”</p><p>“What fucking signals?!” Jongin pushed him away, and it hurt him more than it probably hurt Yixing.</p><p>“I thought the feeling was mutual…”</p><p>“I just met you!” Yixing flinched at the harsh tone, cowering against the counter behind him as he distanced himself away from Jongin.</p><p>“I know…” Yixing took a breath, hands shaking. "But you—you kept looking at me and you came to the baking club...I don't understand..." Jongin frowned, not sure how that gave Yixing the excuse to kiss him out of the blue and even try to suck him off.</p><p>"And what was it that I said about being there?"</p><p>"Something about dicks...?"</p><p>“I’m straight, Yixing.” Jongin deadpanned.</p><p>“Got it.” Yixing brought his gaze back up, blinked his tears away for a bit and finally leveled it with Jongin’s furious one. “I am genuinely sorry Jongin.”</p><p>They stood there in a deafening silence for a while, both confused and tired as chaotic possibilities and ideas went through their respective heads.</p><p>“I made sandwiches if you’re hungry.” What was the point of stalling and making things awkward anyways? What happened, happened. There was no reason for Jongin to be all dramatic about an attractive guy finding him equally attractive. The faster they move on, the better, Jongin reasoned. They weren’t even classmates or anything, there were little to no chances of them ever coming across each other anyways.</p><p>“Oh,” Yixing bashfully scratched the back of his head before answering. “Thank you, Jongin.” Jongin eyed him suspiciously. “But I think I should get going. It’s getting late, my aunt will get worried.”</p><p>“Do you want me to walk you—“</p><p>“No!” Jongin’s eyes widened at that. “No. Thank you, I’ve annoyed you enough.”</p><p>“You didn’t—“</p><p>“Goodnight, Jongin.” Jongin understood, Yixing was embarrassed and he wasn’t going to make him feel worse. Perhaps there were mixed signals somewhere along all of this fiasco. Yes, Jongin was caught more than once staring at Yixing, but he was merely curious, nothing more nothing less. Not to mention the whole baking club thing was all his friends’ fault. So yeah, maybe Yixing misread the signals, but Jongin was straight and definitely not interested.</p><p> </p><p>“Goodnight, Yixing.” Shortly after getting his clothes, completely ignoring Jongin offering his own clean ones, Yixing left on his bicycle without looking back, leaving Jongin alone with his thoughts.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>♡low quality content for high quality shippers♡<br/>♡stay safe and healthy♡</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. 4/4</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The infamous Christmas party the school has been preparing for for ages now, was only a couple of days away from happening. Jongin couldn’t care less really, but Junmyeon made it his mission in life to promote for it passionately, forcing everyone he knew to either put work into decoration, baking or inviting as many as possible of unsuspected victims to fill in the ballroom in order for him to get those satisfying pats of head from his teachers. Jongin admired his dedication, he truly did, but he still avoided his cousin like the plague. A dedication of his own he tried to mirror his cousin’s with.</p><p>Deep down Jongin knew that it wasn’t his cousin he was avoiding, but that was to be kept buried for if that weird evening resurfaced up his mind he won’t be able to function properly, so Jongin opted to pretend like that encounter never took place. Zhang Yixing doesn’t exist, as long as he doesn’t come across him again.</p><p>He was exaggerating, he knew he was, but the reaction Yixing got out of him of a simple kiss was dangerous. Too dangerous for his simple mind to wrap around and understand. He walked towards his group of friends, mind in turmoil. He was a walking zombie ever since that evening, Jongin barely spoke before but he has gotten worse, way worse, now he barely listens to them let alone talk with them. Hums and nods were enough for his friends, Jongin appreciated that.</p><p> </p><p>“…—ixing obviously got the hot girl, as expected!”</p><p>“I was really hoping he swung the other way, but hey, we can’t get everything we want in life.” Baekhyun’s disappointed tone brought Jongin back from his jumbled thoughts only to be slapped by harsh reality. He tried, he really tried his hardest not to let curiosity get the best of him, but Jongin was a mere human and human beings were nothing but weak creatures controlled by their emotions. He couldn’t stop the dumbfounded ‘huh’ from escaping his plump lips.</p><p>“Zhang Yixing? Remember him? He’s your cousin’s classmate, Zhang Liyin-ssam’s nephew?” Jongdae elaborated with a raised brow, clearly startled by Jongin’s sudden interest after being dead-quiet and uninterested for days now.</p><p>“Baekhyun’s unrequited love interest? Jongin are you even here with us anymore?” Chanyeol said with a chuckle that was soon after followed by a loud cry due to Baekhyun’s punch.</p><p>“Don’t think you’re gonna like this Jongin.” Jongin blinked at Chanyeol and Baekhyun for a moment before shifting his gaze towards Sehun.</p><p>“Huh? What do you mean…?”</p><p>“Zhang Yixing is taking the hottest girl in school to that whack Christmas party this weekend.” Jongin’s heart was about to jump out of his throat, he felt dizzy and sweat covered his forehead and palms in no time, as realization sunk in. Did they know? Did his friends know about what happened that evening? No way. There is absolutely no way they knew. Then again, why would Sehun frame it that way? Why would Sehun think Jongin would care about Zhang Yixing’s dating life? Jongin couldn’t breathe and Jongdae was quick to notice.</p><p>“It’s not the end of the world, Jongin-ah.” Jongin blinked at him with a gaping mouth. “You’re hot too, you’ll find someone else in no time.”</p><p>“He’s definitely not as hot as Zhang Yixing, but go on lie to the poor kid.” Baekhyun chimed in with a teasing smirk, Chanyeol backing him up with a loud chuckle from behind. Meanwhile, Sehun eyed Jongin as the boy paled and struggled to breathe properly.</p><p>“Are you alright, dude?” Jongdae looked concerned as well.</p><p>“Hey, Jongin, chill alright!” Baekhyun and Chanyeol finally realized that something was off with their friend and decided jokes and teasing can wait for another time.</p><p>“What is it, Jongin? You’re getting us worried?” Chanyeol reached a hand towards Jongin’s shoulder only to get pushed away.</p><p>“I thought you got over her after that baking club thing? Remember, the evening we all dipped on you, and so did she?” Baekhyun shared with a raised brow in confusion, and Jongin was quick to catch the ‘her’ in his annoying reminder.</p><p>“She? Who?” Jongin questioned in confusion, he almost let out a manic chuckle but thankfully stopped himself in the right time. The last thing he needed was a mental breakdown after the embarrassment he has become. “What are you talking about?”</p><p>“Seolhyun, who else?” Sehun eyed him suspiciously.</p><p>“Seolhyun…?” Jongin mouthed the name, it felt strange coming out of his lips, like a long forgotten memory that no longer had hold over him, if ever.</p><p>“Yes, Kim Seolhyun, who else did you have in mind?” Chanyeol inquired.</p><p>“She’s not worth it, man.” Jongin stared at Sehun before shifting his gaze towards Jongdae as he spoke. Lost was the only word anyone could describe Jongin with at that moment. He was lost, looked lost and was lost for words to say.</p><p>“Jongin, dude,” Jongdae grabbed his shoulder forcefully this time around, not allowing him to push him away. “Honestly, are you okay?”</p><p>“I’m fine.” He wasn’t. He was far from being fine.</p><p>“Well, Yixing hyung is taking Seolhyun to that party this weekend. We refrained from telling you ‘cause we thought you’ll get hurt.” Sehun explained. “Or worse, heartbroken.”</p><p>“However, it seems like you didn’t have her in mind at all.” Baekhyun gave him a weird look, and Jongin decided right then and there that he had had enough.</p><p>“I have a class, see you around.” He took his backpack and ignored the confused looks his friends were giving him. He walked fast until his hasty walk turned into a full on run. He run and run and run until he couldn’t breathe, until his mind can no longer focus on that downfall he just experienced. His friends probably thought he was being odd, or was high off his mind.</p><p>Jongin couldn’t believe himself, after years of obsessing over Kim Seolhyun he completely forgot about her existence and for some fucked up reason thought Zhang Yixing went out there and shared about their encounter with the entire school. His friends were clearly hinting at Seolhyun being the hottest girl in school and all he could think of was none other than Zhang fucking Yixing. What was wrong with him?</p><p> </p><p>“Ah!” A screech startled him out of his thoughts making him realize that he bumped into someone without paying attention.</p><p>“I’m sorry, I’m so sorry—“ Jongin brought his gaze up only to lock it with none other than Zhang Yixing, the man’s soft droopy eyes comically widening at his sight. He gulped, hands fastened around Yixing’s shoulders securing him from falling. He couldn’t believe his damned luck, whatever gods out there were clearly having the time of their lives messing with him like that. Of all people he could’ve bumped into it had to be the one and only person he was actively avoiding.</p><p>“It’s my fault, Jongin-ssi. I was spacing out, I’m sorry.”</p><p>“No, it’s fine. Actually, I wasn’t looking myself so…” Jongin trailed, quickly recovering his hands to his sides. Jongin felt his skin burn. He also couldn’t ignore the creeping flush of heat he felt on his tanned face, a pale blush that certainly mirrored Yixing’s one.</p><p>“Hey, cousin!” Junmyeon’s cheerful greeting made him realize that Yixing wasn’t alone. Jongin tore his gaze from Yixing and looked around him to find both Junmyeon and Kyungsoo staring at him.</p><p>“Hey…” Jongin greeted back with an obvious lack of cheerfulness while wiping the sweat off his forehead.</p><p>“We were about to head out for launch actually, we took a break from the preparations. You should come along Jongin-ah, it’s been a while since we last hang out.” Jongin caught Kyungsoo rolling his eyes at Junmyeon’s friendly nature, clearly he wasn’t welcomed in Kyungsoo’s book after dropping the baking club unannounced last time.</p><p>“No, thanks!” Jongin declined firmly, avoiding the urge to glance at Yixing at all costs.</p><p>“Awe, c’mon cousin! You’ll even the number if you come, four is better than three. You can keep Yixing company as Kyungsoo and I discuss the balloon budget.”</p><p>“The what?”</p><p>“Balloon budget.” Kyungsoo deadpanned with a glare, daring Jongin to mockingly question Junmyeon again.</p><p>Jongin chuckled at that before finally giving in and glancing at Yixing to see his reaction. Yixing smiled at him, and Jongin couldn’t tell if it was genuine or not.</p><p>“Fine.” Junmyeon clapped his hands in glee at that, and was about to talk when Jongin interrupted. “But you’re paying.”</p><p>“Of course I am!”</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>♡</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>They ended up in a nice Coffee Shop that served some good quality sandwiches and lattes, and Jongin for the first time that day could finally breathe properly. The place had a nice vibe with some relaxing indie music blasting in the background, Junmyeon proudly shared that it was his favorite in town, and that the owner knew him personally and always reserved the window wall table for him.</p><p> </p><p>“Besides the sandwiches, they make the best pastry in the area!” Junmyeon shoved the menu against Yixing’s face startling him from his daze. “Check them out, it’s on me!” Yixing blinked at Junmyeon sparkling round eyes. “My treat!”</p><p>“Oh…” Jongin couldn’t stop his eyes from lowering to stare at Yixing’s lips forming that ‘oh’. He ignored the creeping memory of that damned kiss they had and quickly shifted his gaze towards Kyungsoo whom he found watching him carefully.</p><p>“I thought you hated coffee?”</p><p>“I do.” Jongin raised a brow at Kyungsoo’s random remark, specifically at his oddly confronting tone.</p><p>“A latte is a type of coffee, Jongin. You’re drinking coffee.”</p><p>“No, I’m not!” Jongin’s face heated, he did hate coffee and Kyungsoo should learn to mind his own business. A latte was mostly made of milk, he could handle it, it was the full on bitter taste of coffee that made him gag. He clenched his fists and looked down at the cake menu, done and over with Kyungsoo’s antics. If it was up to him he would’ve ordered a hot choco drink but Yixing was with them, what would he think? That Jongin was an immature child at heart who couldn’t handle a mere hot beverage like coffee? No, thanks, he’d rather chug on that latte like there’s no tomorrow.</p><p>Jongin completely ignored that part of him questioning why he even cared about what a stranger like Zhang Yixing would think of him.</p><p>“A latte is made of espresso and steamed milk.” Kyungsoo smirked, satisfied with the reaction Jongin was giving him. “Coffee, Jongin.” The doe eyed male deadpanned. “ You’re drinking coffee.”</p><p>“I’m not.”</p><p>“You are.”</p><p>“It’s mostly milk.”</p><p>“Err…with coffee?”</p><p>“Kyungsoo, give my cousin a break please.” Junmyeon chuckled along with Yixing at the boys’ silly banter. Kyungsoo smiled in victory when Jongin huffed in annoyance before covering his face with both his arms to stifle a groan. He was amused to say the least that Kyungsoo even cared enough to tease Jongin and playfully engage him like that. Odd, Kyungsoo usually would simply ignore people he didn’t know well, if not most, and not even bother with small talk.</p><p>Junmyeon watched with a smile as Kyungsoo quietly cut a generous part of his lemon cake and placed it next to Jongin’s latte. It seemed like Kyungsoo had a soft spot for Jongin judging by the look of it.</p><p>“So,” Junmyeon stuffed his mouth with some delicious looking butterscotch cake. “Did you guys hang out after leaving the school together that day?” Kyungsoo looked interested as well. “It was storming, you must’ve got drenched using Yixing’s bicycle.” Yixing poked his blueberry cake with a fork, avoiding Jongin’s gaze at all costs.</p><p>“Yeah…” Jongin gave a halfhearted chuckle, memories of that day flooding in like the storm Junmyeon mentioned. That bicycle moment was something to be remembered, he smiled at the memory like it was years ago it happened. Jongin was so mad at the time for what the ride Yixing offered turned out to be, but now he found it amusing and kind of adorable if he was to be honest.</p><p>“No, we didn’t.” Jongin’s eyes slowly but carefully settled on Yixing as he calmly blurted that lie out of his mouth. “I offered Jongin-ssi a ride, and he politely tuned me down.”</p><p>“Oh, I see.” Yixing smiled at Jumyeon, although the smile didn’t reach his eyes for some reason. “Well as long as he wasn’t rude.”</p><p>“Nuh, your cousin made sure I didn’t misunderstand him. A gentleman, just like you Junmyeon hyung.” Junmyeon blinked at that before looking back at Jongin who simply shrugged. If Yixing’s words had double meaning it went straight over Jongin’s head, or so it seemed.</p><p>“Junmyeon-ah, Mr. Park is here.” Junmyeon eyed Yixing for a moment before looking away and standing to go greet the shop owner he mentioned earlier when they first got in. Kyungsoo followed his suit leaving Jongin and Yixing alone.</p><p> </p><p>Jongin was confused, he really was. He stabbed that lemon cake Kyungsoo left for him with his fork, he stabbed it hard and then smashed it until it no longer was edible. Kim Jongin was confused. Why did Yixing lie, he did give him a lift it was as simple as that. Why lie and say he didn’t? What was the point? He glanced up at Yixing and found him mirroring his action, blueberry cake no longer recognizable.</p><p> </p><p>“Why did you lie, if you don’t mind me asking?” Jongin finally gathered enough courage to question the other man. “I mean, Junmyeon is pretty noisy you know. He was probably watching us from the classroom’s window…”</p><p>“I thought we were pretending that evening never happened, Jongin-ssi.” Yixing was still being stubborn, ignoring his gaze while looking at the damaged piece of cake.</p><p>“He simply asked if we got drenched using your bike, it means he saw us use it. You could’ve simply said yes and Junmyeon hyung wouldn’t have asked any more questions. Now, he’s probably confusion to why you lied,” Jongin tried his hardest to catch Yixing’s gaze with his own, he couldn’t help but feel his chest tighten knowing the Chinese male noticed his immature attempts to run away from him and ignore his existence. He felt like an asshole.</p><p>“You look really nice in pink, Jongin-ssi.” Jongin was taken aback by that, of all the things he expected Yixing to say, a random compliment like that one was the last thing on his mind. Pink. Jongin looked down at his shirt and realized he wore pink. A far cry from the usual dark outfits he sported.</p><p>“Thank you?”</p><p>Yixing pursed his lips before shifting his focus downwards on the blueberry cake he ruined. Smashed or not, it was still perfectly edible, he reached for a bite and ignored Jongin’s dumbfounded face that watched his every move carefully.</p><p> </p><p>“Are my two favorite people getting along?” Junmyeon’s hand on his shoulder almost made Jongin’s heart jump out of his chest. Yixing simply smiled politely as an answer.</p><p>“Who are you bringing to the party, Jongin?” Kyungsoo was curious, he wondered if Jongin had someone in his life.</p><p>“What party?”</p><p>“What do you mean ‘what party’? The Christmas party Jongin-ah, obviously!” Junmyeon chuckled, Jongin frowned. “My girlfriend is obviously coming as my date, Kyungsoo was asked by a really pretty exchange student, like trust me Jongin, she’s so pretty. If I wasn’t head over heels for my girlfriend, I would’ve totally been jealous!”</p><p>“She’s really nice.” Yixing added with a genuine smile that showed his soft dimples. Jongin couldn’t help but stare.</p><p>“Well, yeah, she’s pretty but definitely not as pretty as Yixing’s date!” Kyungsoo said with a blush, he clearly was as enamoured with his date as Junmyeon and Yixing were. “You two would make the cutest pair, I bet!”</p><p>“Yeah…” Yixing scratched the back of his head in embarrassment.</p><p>“Jongin has the biggest crush on your date by the way, xing!” Jongin choked on his latte at that, and Junmyeon simply wiggled his brows absolutely unbothered by Jongin’s mortified expression. “Don’t deny it!”</p><p>“Hyung!”</p><p>“Really?” Yixing eyed Jongin’s reaction. “How sweet.”</p><p>“No, I don’t!” Jongin tried to save what was left of his dignity, and was ready to fight Junmyeon and squish him just like that lemon cake on the table for putting his dirty laundry out there in front of Yixing. How embarrassing, Jongin groaned.</p><p>“I think Junmyeon hyung mentioned it to you before, remember Yixing hyung?”</p><p>“Huh?” Yixing shifted his attention back to Kyungsoo, brows furrowed.</p><p>“Yeah, that day Kim Seolhyun came to apologize for not being able to attend the last baking club meeting? You asked who she was and Junmyeon hyung mentioned she was Jongin’s crush.” Jongin stared with a gaping mouth at Kyungsoo and so did Yixing.</p><p>“I don’t think he—“</p><p>“Oh, yes, sorry Jongin-ah I actually did.” Junmyeon laughed a bit too hard for something that definitely wasn’t funny, unaware of the thick tension building up in the room between Yixing and Jongin.</p><p>Jongin shifted his glare from Kyungsoo to Yixing and the Chinese man quickly averted his gaze and stood up.</p><p>“I need to pee!” Junmyeon’s laughter died down at that and Kyungsoo’s face morphed into a puzzled expression at the sudden change of air in the room. He felt like something off was going on between Yixing and Jongin and was about to ask what was going on when his eyes fell on the ruined lemon cake he shared with Jongin.</p><p>“Ya!” He was about to scold the younger when Jongin stood up too.</p><p>“Wait!” Yixing froze in his place, eyes wide and cautious. “I’m joining you hyung!”</p><p>“No need—“</p><p>“I need to pee too.” Junmyeon and Kyungsoo gave each other a look before shrugging simultaneously and deciding to get back to the balloon budget, they wasted enough time already.</p><p> </p><p>Jongin walked behind Yixing, his blood boiling. The Chinese male kept glancing back at Jongin, his poised walk swiftly turning into a clumsy run when he was out of Junmyeon and Kyungsoo’s vision.</p><p> </p><p>“Wait, Yixing! “ Jongin’s face was met with the door as Yixing was fast enough to get in the restroom and push the door shut with his entire body leaning against it. He manifested all those years he spent forced to take martial arts lesson in order to keep the door shut as Jongin pushed equally as hard back to open it. The fight was wild, both pretty close when it came to physical strength.</p><p>“Open the god damned door!”</p><p>“No!”</p><p>“I just want to talk to you, hyung.” Yixing closed his eyes shut, not ready for this confrontation. “Open it!”</p><p>“No!”</p><p>“You asked Kim Seolhyun to the Christmas party out of spite, didn’t you?” Yixing bit hard on his lower lip at that. He couldn’t believe how things turned out, he was fine when Jongin was ignoring him, Yixing didn’t need this in his life. “Answer me!”</p><p>“Yes!” Yixing bit back, he was going to stand his ground and be honest. Jongin didn’t scare him. He did nothing wrong. “Wait, no! She asked me to go with her, I simply said yes!”</p><p>“Knowing that I liked her?”</p><p>“Jongin!” Jongin couldn’t believe his ears, he thought Yixing was a decent man.</p><p>“What?”</p><p>“You hurt me!” Jongin groaned and Yixing relaxed his body, no longer pushing the door. Jongin mirrored his action, and instead of trying to push it open, he leaned against it, too tired and confused to fight physically anymore.</p><p>“You forcefully kissed me, Yixing hyung.”</p><p>“You kissed back!”</p><p>“You tried to suck me off for fuck’s sake!”</p><p>“You lead me on!”</p><p>“I’m straight.” Jongin let out a long sigh he didn’t know he was holding, unconsciously putting his fingers against the door, as if reaching out for Yixing, hoping he’d understand.</p><p>“Are you sure?” Jongin blinked at Yixing’s soft tone, he sounded heartbroken and Jongin was beyond confused at this point. They just met! What the hell was going on? “Are you sure, Jongin?” The way his name rolled out of Yixing’s plump lips shouldn’t have affected him as much as it did. It confused him, it made his heartbeat speed up and palms sweat. What was happening to him?</p><p>“I—“ He was interrupted by Yixing swiftly opening the door, brows furrowed with a prominent pout on his pale face. With the door out of the way, Jongin brought his hands back to his sides and was a bit taken aback by the proximity between him and Yixing. The Chinese male simply stood in his place unmoving, Jongin gulped.</p><p>“I admit.” Yixing sighed before continuing. “I said yes to Seolhyun because I was hurt and wanted to get back at you.” Jongin quietly watched Yixing struggle with his Korean vocabulary, a blush adorning his face. “It’s not right, Seolhyun deserves better, but I’m not apologizing to you, Jongin.”</p><p>Jongin simply stared at his elder for a while before letting out yet another deep sigh.</p><p>“Okay.”</p><p>“Okay.” Yixing repeated the word softly, eyes lowering downward. He was embarrassed, completely and utterly embarrassed. He knew he was probably making stuff up but he could’ve sworn he felt Jongin stare at him and follow him with his eyes that whole day leading up to that damned evening. He kept staring at his lips every time Yixing spoke, and god damn it Yixing was hurt. He knew he should’ve apologized again for forcefully kissing Jongin at the time and topping it by taking his crush to that party now, but he didn’t—he couldn’t.</p><p>“Yixing hyung.” Yixing leveled his gaze with Jongin’s, ready to give up his stubbornness and move on. “I can’t wait to taste your Chambord cupcakes this weekend.”</p><p>“You still remember?” Yixing chuckled, for some reason they were whispering now after that heated back and forth struggle with the restroom door.</p><p>“Of course I do!” Jongin chuckled softly along. “I was traumatized that day, the only thing that kept me sane was the possibility of tasting that sweet treat after the class is done.”</p><p>“You’re such a drama queen.” Yixing rolled his eyes. “Why were you traumatized, Jongin?”</p><p>“Well, for starters, I got played by my own close friends, my crush didn’t show up!” Jongin used his fingers to count for that dramatic effect. “Had to socialize with my cousin and his scary best friend, oh, and was forced to team up with you!”</p><p>“I’m that traumatizing, huh?”</p><p>“You have no idea.” Yixing snorted before breaking into a quiet laugh. Jongin’s chuckle turned into a smile as he stared at Yixing’s failed attempts to stifle his dorky laugh. They stood there for a moment, both silently watching one another as they leaned against the restroom door.</p><p>Jongin snorted another chuckle, he couldn’t help it. This was absurd, from the day he spotted Yixing walking towards him along with his cousin with that ridiculous Harry Potter inspired outfit, events have been nothing but absurd in Jongin’s life. The whole baking club drama has led to this very moment, just two practically strangers fighting over who’s going to break down a random coffee shop restroom door first, then laughing like two idiots a couple of minutes later as if they were more than used to this. Yixing bit hard on his lower lip, trying his best not to bark yet another unattractive chuckle.</p><p>“Excuse me, I need to use the restroom. Can you please move away?” Jongin and Yixing were startled from their daze by a stranger glaring at them for blocking the way. Both boys gave each other a look before bursting into a laugh simultaneously. “What’s so funny?”</p><p>“I’m—“ Yixing laughed a bit more before pushing Jongin away and making his way to move as well. “I’m sorry, we’re sorry!”</p><p>“Just move already!” The man pushed his way in harshly, and Jongin was about to fight him for being unnecessarily rude when Yixing grabbed his hand and pulled him away towards Kyungsoo and Junmyeon. Jongin couldn’t help but stare at the striking contrast of their skin colours as they walked back hand in hand. He was once again reminded of how soft Yixing’s hand was, he felt a blush creep up on his face and heartbeat skips a beat at the feeling of Yixing’s warm skin against his. There it was again, that damned confusing feeling he got every time Yixing touched him.</p><p> </p><p>“Must’ve been a satisfying pee you two had…” An amused Junmyeon shared his thoughts the minute the two boys arrived with hands intertwined. Kyungsoo laughed quietly at his friend’s remark as he gathered his stuff from the table and stood up, not missing the way Jongin swiftly took his hand back to his side as if he was caught doing something he shouldn’t have been doing. Interesting, Kyungsoo thought as he eyed the younger scratch the back of his head in embarrassment.</p><p>“We’re leaving.” Kyungsoo announced.</p><p>“Yeah, we’re done.” Junmyeon added as he as well gathered his stuff from the table before glancing back at Jongin. “We’re having our last baking club meeting tomorrow if you’d like to come and help, Jongin-ah.”</p><p>“No, thanks hyung. I’ll pass.”</p><p>“Alright, well, see you around.” Jumyeon shrugged, he would’ve loved to have another helping hand but if his cousin didn’t feel like it, he wasn’t going to force him. Yixing took his backpack from his chair and with one last glance at Jongin sprinted towards the door mumbling something about being late for his dance class.</p><p>Jongin watched him disappear from behind the door, curiosity getting the best of him, the tanned male couldn’t help but ask.</p><p>“Yixing is a dancer?” Junmyeon hummed in confirmation as he walked towards the door, Kyungsoo and Jongin following his suit.</p><p>“Yeah, he is.” Kyungsoo pointed at a girl standing opposite the street from them, and Jongin recognized her as Junmyeon’s girlfriend. “He’s really good actually, not as good as my dear cousin of course.” Jongin couldn’t help but cringe at Junmyeon’s cheesy wink directed at him. “But, yeah, Yixing is a dancer, a really good one at that.”</p><p>“Oh…”</p><p>“Goodbye, Jongin, we’ve had enough of you for the day.” Kyungsoo bid his goodbye not forgetting to pat the younger on the shoulder and then crossed the street along with Junmyeon towards his girlfriend. Jongin mouthed a soft ‘Bye, hyung’ as he watched the two walk away from him. What an eventful day, Jongin thought as he head back home.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>♡</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Jongin lazily leaned his face against his hand, almond shaped eyes focused on the droplets of rain as they hit the class window rhythmically, a nice distraction from whatever his teacher was saying.</p><p>Sehun was on his phone pretending to follow along the lesson, fingers busy typing a text with a small smirk forming on his pale face. Jongin shifted his gaze from the window to Sehun’s fingers to finally settle it on his friend’s face. He stared at Sehun and wondered how boring and bland his life would’ve been without his best friend’s presence in it. He couldn’t even imagine it, he loved Sehun more than anything and was thankful the usually hard to please brat accepted him under his wing.</p><p>“Are you disappointed I didn’t ask Seolhyun out before she was taken?” Jongin genuinely questioned, he knew how much Sehun wanted that double date life for Jongin and himself. He had all those dating ideas and plans, and Jongin felt like he ruined them by being a slow, awkward bag of embarrassment.</p><p>“What?” Sehun turned off his phone and shifted his attention towards Jongin with a raised brow.</p><p>“You wanted me and Seolhyun together, no?”</p><p>“I thought you wanted yourself and Seolhyun together, no?” Sehun challenged, clearly confused. Jongin shrugged, throwing a quick glance at the teacher to make sure she was busy before looking back at Sehun with a deep sigh.</p><p>“I’m sorry, I’m probably not going to that Christmas party anyways. I just—I don’t know, I just feel like I’m going to be thirdwheeling the whole time, and that’ll make you uncomfortable and I’m really not feeling it—“ Sehun rolled his eyes at his dramatic friend before shushing him with a pointed finger daring him to talk.</p><p>“Jongin, you’re my best friend. I just want to see you happy, I thought you liked Seolhyun and that being with her would’ve made you happy. It seems like I was mistaken.” Jongin pursed his plump lips into a pout at that. It was Sehun who suggested  Seolhyun as a possible crush for Jongin and the tanned male simply played along because he felt like it made his best friend happy. “I love you Jongin-ah, I want what’s best for you, alright?” Jongin hummed.</p><p>“I know, I love you too, Sehun-ah.”</p><p>“Forget about that Christmas party, we don’t have to go if you don’t feel like going.” Jongin grinned at that, Sehun spoiled him too much. He felt like a weight has been lifted off his shoulders. After a deep sigh and a roll of eye at his friend who quickly went back to texting after making sure Jongin understood that he really couldn’t care less who Jongin wanted to date as long as he was happy, Jongin shifted his gaze back to the blurred window.</p><p> </p><p>The sound of the bell ringing signaled that the class was finally over, and soon enough Jongin found himself surrounded by his annoying friends, all talking at the same time, discussing different topics.</p><p>Jongdae snatched Sehun’s phone claiming that the younger was ignoring him as he talked to him, therefore disrespecting his elder. Chanyeol was loudly sharing uninteresting facts about how his day went so far to a Byun Baekhyun who was busy typing on his phone. Jongin ignored them, messily pushing his notebooks into his backpack. He was tired, and ready to go back home and take the longest nap known to mankind.</p><p>“Got a text from Yixing hyung!” That, for some reason, managed to grab Jongin’s attention. It felt like no matter how hard he tried to avoid thinking of the Chinese male he’ll always find a way to pop up in his mundane life.</p><p>“What does it say?” Jongdae inquired with a raised brow</p><p>“Today’s the last meeting of the baking club team, he’s wondering if we’d like to help.” Baekhyun read the message out loud for everyone in the classroom with a little smirk forming on his face.</p><p>“I bet Junmyeon hyung forced him to send you that text!” Chanyeol confidently shared, challenging Baekhyun to argue with him.</p><p>“Doesn’t matter, I’m going to help my beloved hyung with his baking stuff, see you guys!”</p><p>“Wait, I’ll go with you!” Jongdae grabbed his backpack, threw Sehun’s phone on the table and dashed off towards the door. Sehun was left to stare in horror at his phone, he almost had a heart attack watching his phone fly across the room. Thankfully, it was unharmed. It was nothing short than a miracle. Sehun groaned in frustration, before shifting his vision back to Jongin and Chanyeol.</p><p>“What about you two? Are you joining them as well?”</p><p>“I have nothing better to do to be honest, I won’t mind eating some cake and drinking some booze!” Sehun rolled his eyes at an overexcited Chanyeol before shifting them towards Jongin. “Well, what about you?”</p><p>“No, I’ll pass.” He didn’t want to hurt Yixing anymore by constantly making him forced to hang around him, he’s no longer avoiding him per se, but it’ll be best for both of them not to keep unnecessarily running into each other every other hour.</p><p>“Well, see you later then, Jongin-ah.” Sehun offered his fist to bump it with Jongin’s one before leaving with a grinning Chanyeol. Jongin took one last glance at the window before deciding against that nap, a couple of hours of dance sounded far more appealing in his mind. It’s been a while since he last danced, the school had a dance studio that Jongin used to consider his second home. He set his mind on giving the once a haven a little visit.</p><p>He wasn’t going to even bother deny it, it was knowing that Yixing danced what made him crave the aching of his muscles after a nice long session of dance. He wondered briefly what style of dance the Chinese male enjoyed, what kind of music would set the mood for him, how he would look like sweating and grinning in glee after pulling off a satisfying move that probably took hours to hone. Jongin shook those dangerous thoughts away as he walked towards the studio, whatever Yixing looked like or felt shouldn’t really concern him.</p><p> </p><p>“You must be kidding me.” Jongin was done and tired with this absurd situation, god give him a break. He specifically avoided the baking club and that damned meeting all his friends went running to attend simply so he wouldn’t have to face Yixing again so soon. Fate seemed to have its own agenda, it seemed like he was destined to keep bumping into Zhang Yixing.</p><p> </p><p>“Hey, Jongin.” Yixing chuckled at his reaction before reaching for his shirt to cover his chest, face heating in embarrassment. “I was about to leave, don’t worry.”</p><p>“No please, don’t!” Jongin averted his gaze as Yixing put his shirt on, a blush creeping up his face. He had a nice toned body, Jongin couldn’t help but notice. “We can practice together.” Jongin cleared his throat. “There’s enough room for both of us.”</p><p>“Maybe some other time.” Yixing reached for his backpack and stood frozen in his spot for a moment, simply staring at Jongin. Jongin stared back, unable to tear his gaze from Yixing’s. “I’m not going with Seolhyun anymore, I apologized to her and she understood. Just wanted to let you know.”</p><p>“I didn’t mind really...”</p><p>“No, Jongin.” Yixing looked dead serious, brows furrowed and eyes honest. “I stepped out of line. I don’t know what came over me, I’m not usually like this I—“ Jongin was about to talk when Yixing continued. “No wait, let me explain.” Yixing walked closer to Jongin, cautious steps and determined brown eyes.</p><p>“Yixing—“</p><p>“I misunderstood everything like you said.” Jongin took a shaky breath, Yixing was far too close for comfort. “The way you looked at me,” Yixing eyed him like he saw through him, and Jongin felt trapped. “The way your heartbeat sped up every time I touched you,” The sound of the rain echoed in the quiet studio, playing like a soft melody behind Yixing’s every word. “When you came to the baking club that evening, when you looked uncomfortable talking to Junmyeon but then you looked around, spotted me and I—“</p><p>Jongin couldn’t help but glance down at Yixing’s plump lips as the Chinese male struggled to find the right words to say. “I thought you only stayed for me, Jongin.” Yixing sighed and Jongin brought his gaze up to look at Yixing.</p><p>“I did.”</p><p>“You’re confusing me, Jongin.”</p><p>“Let’s be friends.”</p><p>“No.” Yixing deadpanned with a sad smile. “No, Jongin. I don’t want to be your friend.” Yixing’s eyes moved slowly until they settled on Jongin’s plump lips. Jongin couldn’t deny it anymore, he was attracted to Yixing. He didn’t know how, why or when it happened. Jongin can no longer deny how his body reacted to Yixing, how his heart reacted to the slightest twitch of Yixing’s lashes.</p><p>“Yixing…”</p><p>“Seolhyun is all free and ready for you to ask out, Jongin-ah.” Yixing cleared his throat before adding. “I have Chambord cupcakes waiting for me to make, have a good day.”</p><p>Jongin closed his eyes shut at Yixing’s heartbroken tone, hands shaking and heartbeat throbbing madly at the sudden realization. He liked Yixing, he was romantically attracted to Yixing from the very first time he saw him. But he thought he was straight, he thought he liked Kim Seolhyun, he didn’t understand, he was confused. What was happening to him?</p><p>“Yixing wait—“</p><p>Jongin reached his hand towards Yixing, grabbed the other man’s arm and pulled him back against his chest. Yixing gave a startled ‘ah’ before leveling his wide eyes with Jongin’s hooded one.</p><p>“I’m going to kiss you is that okay with you?” Yixing nodded in confirmation, mind in a state of trance. Jongin leaned down slowly until his lips were feathering against Yixing’s plump ones, eyes coated with lust and bodies intertwining and morphing into one. It started as a simple peck, soft and innocent, Jongin was merely testing the waters. However, Yixing’s scent quickly drove Jongin into insanity. Tongues clashed and hands roamed every inch of skin, both boys fighting for dominance. Jongin has never felt this alive before, every muscle, every vein in body vibrated with every trail of touch Yixing left behind. He couldn’t believe he denied himself this heavenly feeling all this time.</p><p>Yixing’s hand slid downwards smoothly, feeling and savoring every bump and curve on Jongin’s chest and stomach. Jongin’s lips moved against Yixing’s face, kissing every corner until they finally settled against Yixing’s pale neck, he sucked on the hot delicious skin and Yixing right away rewarded him with a throaty moan.</p><p>The Chinese male’s clumsy hands were insanely soft against his member, a stark contrast to how Jongin’s were tough and calloused, but they felt good on his cock as Yixing built up a steady stroking motion. It wasn’t much longer before Jongin left them sticky with his cum. Yixing stared at his fingers contemplatively, a somewhat shy smirk forming on his flushed face, before bringing them to his mouth and licking them off, eyes locked with Jongin’s heated ones.</p><p>Jongin gave a strangled moan as he watched, wishing he could just flip Yixing over onto all fours and fuck him like he’s been aching to do for as long as he can remember, but it’ll be a while yet before he can go again, and even longer until he can actually come to term with his feelings and go through with it.</p><p> </p><p>“Straight, huh?” Yixing chuckled before planting a soft kiss on the corner of Jongin’s plump lips. “A straight up liar, that’s what you are.” Jongin rolled his eyes before pulling Yixing back against him.</p><p>“Sexuality is a spectrum.” He sealed his words with a quick kiss.</p><p>“Oh, really?” Yixing leaned in for another kiss before finally gathering enough will to push Jongin away. “Look Jongin,” The tanned male eyed him carefully as he took a couple of steps back, leaving some space between them. “This doesn’t really have to be a thing, if it was a one time thing—If you’re simply curious then I—“</p><p>“I like you hyung, there’s no point in denying it anymore.” Jongin reached for Yixing’s pale hand and intertwined their fingers. “This is new to me.”</p><p>“I know, and you don’t have to—“</p><p>“But I’m willing to work on it.” Jongin brought Yixing’s hand to his lips and kissed it tenderly. “I never felt like this before.” Yixing smiled at the soft gesture. “Never. Not with anyone, man or woman.”</p><p>“I like you too, Jongin.” Yixing mirrored Jongin’s gesture and kissed the tanned hand delicately. “The very first time I saw you.”</p><p>Both boys goofily smiled at each other, feeling like they’ve wasted too much time already. Jongin kissed Yixing again before asking. “Would you be my date for this week’s Christmas party, Zhang Yixing?”</p><p>“I wouldn’t have it any other way, Kim Jongin.”</p><p>They laughed at how cheesy they were being as they walked out of school with their hands intertwined. Jongin couldn’t believe how things turned out at the end. They barely know each other, just a week ago Jongin was straight, and here he was now, dick wanked and mouth sore from being ravaged by another man. Not any man, Zhang Yixing, the dazed hottie with a heart of gold. Jongin wondered briefly how his friends would react to this, but quickly pushed the idea away for Sehun made it clear that as long as he was happy so were his friends. God, Jongin couldn’t wait to see Baekhyun’s reaction to the news.</p><p> </p><p>“Want a ride?” Yixing asked with a teasing tone as they finally arrived to where his bicycle was parked, rain pouring hard just like that evening when they first met.</p><p>“You mean you or the bike?” Yixing gaped at a drenched Kim Jongin cheekily winking at him. Of all the people he could’ve fell for, he had to go and fall for that idiot, Yixing thought with a fond smile.</p><p>“Only, if you showed me your garden.”</p><p>“You got it, Zhang Yixing!”</p><p>“It’s ‘hyung’ to you, young man!” They bickered like an old married couple as they rode the bike towards Jongin’s house, raindrops cooling their heated skin and heartfelt laughter filling the space around them.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>the end.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>♡low quality content for high quality shippers♡<br/>♡stay safe and healthy♡</p>
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